Elected Member Briefing - HRA car parks handover to Community Support & Enforcement Team

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead, Housing and Communities

Date: 2nd May 2025

Subject: HRA car parks handover to Community Support & Enforcement Team

Purpose

This briefing is being issued to inform you about the future management of some car parks currently owned by the Housing Revenue Account.

Briefing Information

The Council's Housing Revenue Account currently owns six car parking areas for tenants and residents who live nearby. These are:

• Market, Milne and Lickley Courts, Perth
• Potterhill, Perth
• Blackwatch/Parmelia, Perth
• Pomarium, Perth
• Wallace Place, Letham, Perth
• Greenbank Crescent, Glenfarg

There have historically been issues with these car parking areas, most notably the unauthorised use and abuse of spaces by people who do not live there.

The Housing Service has no powers to enforce or take action when these people use the car parks.

Housing staff spend a lot of time on the administration of the car parks by issuing residents' permits, which involves gathering paperwork from residents to prove they live there and have a vehicle registered at the address. Time is also taken up dealing with complaints and trying to tackle the unauthorised use of spaces.

The Service has spent a significant amount of money of replacing padlocks, chains and barriers that have been broken, and has taken the decision to stop replacing them because of the costs involved

Handover of HRA car parks to Community Support & Enforcement

Following discussions, it has been agreed that the six HRA car parks will be handed over to the Community Support & Enforcement Team for future management.

Community Support & Enforcement has the powers of enforcement that will ensure that the car parks can be used by tenants and residents who are entitled to use them.

We are considering options for residents and tenants in terms of free parking permits which will tighten up regulation of parking at the sites. Parking Attendants will patrol the sites to enforce the arrangements.

If it is found that there are surplus parking spaces at any of the sites, these could be made available to the general public on a pay-and-display basis.

We are in the process of considering stipulations for the terms and conditions of the parking areas for example no maintenance to be undertaken on vehicles, no caravans to be parked etc. 

All of the sites will require works to bring them up to standard, and this is currently being scoped.

We are confident that tenants and resident who are entitled to use the car parks will welcome this move, and we will carry out consultation about arrangements that will allow them to use the parking areas without any problems.